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The State Department of Taxation and Finance has hired a seasoned criminal investigation professional and has embedded State Police at its satellite offices in attempts to enhance enforcement of tax evasion schemes such as illegal cigarette trafficking.

Under a new agreement between the State Police and the Tax Department, State Police investigators are working with tax investigators, including training them in surveillance, according to a person familiar with the situation.

State officials said State Police are particularly focusing on cigarette tax enforcement in the partnership.

The department hired Risa S. Sugarman to lead the criminal enforcement unit. She had been deputy commissioner and director of the Office of Sex Offender Management at the Division of Criminal Justice Services. Her career also includes 20 years in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, including a decade as chief of the homicide division.

It also hired Christopher A. Ammirati as the director of investigations. A federal agent for 26 years, he investigated money laundering, corruption, and financial fraud. He was with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where he was deputy chief of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and director of the El Dorado Money Laundering Task Force.

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Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.